[f_minor] Beethoven for Fred

[Induscandia]

Brendler is just a stupid fraud, worst pianst ever. 

  Well you know I greatly admire Brendel and had the joy to hear him in concert in Toronto.  However, his comments about GG are about as far off the mark as he accuses Gould of.  However, Brendel is singing from his own well known song book and he represents a Germanic purist school which has it's fans, it has it's strengths and after a while it's obvious short comings.  One cannot ever recall hearing a piano piece of Beethoven, Schubert or Schuman played by Kempf as revelatory.  Never.  Beautifully played but always "urtext", safe and within proper boundaries, that Brendel refers to.  Kempf's music making was never boring but it was always predictable.  

  Gould hated this mentality and as an artist he resolutely waged war against that school of thought.  Brendel is correct in suggesting that some (he would say most) of Gould's interpretations are not successful.  I would never refer to Brendel's "Goldburg Variations" (did he record it?) but I would listen to Murray Peraiah, Ivo Pogerelich or Angela Hewitt.  I cannot possibly imagine Horowitz trying the Goldberg's nor would I encourage that entire generation of titans (including Artur Rubinstein).  Perish the thought.  Though, Brendel's unkind words about Horowitz do not take into consideration the dazzling Scarlatti - especially the younger Horowitz.  Brendel does not like Rach, ok.  I happen to adore Rach's music and yes, it is often heart on the sleeve but for me it all radiates great musicality and emotion.  Especially delightful are some unusual harmonic cadences that come out of nowhere.....I love his music...what can I say?

  Fred



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  From: f_minor [mailto:f_minor-bounces at glenngould.org] On Behalf Of maryellen jensen
  Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2012 7:26 PM
  To: f_minor at glenngould.org
  Subject: Re: [f_minor] Beethoven for Fred



  Fred,

   A bit of der Brendel on your chosen topic:

  "A well-known American author...once asked various pianists what they thought of Horowitz. I was unable to contribute to his book because, as I told him, I was more interested in musical realities than musical myths.

  I was not as enthusiastic about Horowitz the artist as many of my colleagues. And I was not so captivated by him as a pianist either, since I found that his kind of virtuosity rarely served the music as I understood it.

  ...you can either illuminate works with a spotlight from without, or develop them from within....the spotlights from without are embodied for me particularly clearly in Glenn Gould. In my view, he was not interested in deciphering a work from within, but wished instead, as unexpectedly as possible, to illuminate it from without. He went so far as to actually hamper an understanding of a composer, and maltreat him, in order to be original at all costs. It was clearly compulsive.

  Gould to me was a classic example of what a performer should not be; as an eccentric, he seemed determined to oppose the wishes of the composer or go against the character of the piece.

  I've always asked myself: why does this man, who is so gifted, treat composers in such a disgraceful way? It seems to me that quite a few people love this kind of sadism...There is nothing wrong in playing pieces in a variety of ways - but please do so within the limits, within the character and structure of the piece itself. Gould deliberately oversteps these limits, or he is simply not aware of them.

  ...it seems to me that he has no interest in all in the character of the piece. He is not aware that it exists...He does not consider that there might be a character which is indissolubly connected with the piece, which one must find and bring to life.

  I have to accept that Gould's playing can on occasions be revelatory. But I do not think this is due to psychological understanding, but rather to chance - the desire to do what is unexpected.

  I am not a Rachmaninov fan. The piano repertoire is vast, and Rachmaninov to me seems a waste of time.

  ...among [Rachmaninov's] works for piano, above all the piano concertos, there is nothing that I find captivating, enough to recommend to a young pianist. Nor has the third piano concerto ever convinced me."

  The book is in Q & A format (the questioner is Martin Meyer, literary editor of the Neue Zurcher Zeitung) and the sections are Life, About Music, On Performance, On Writing (Brendel has published essays and poetry), and an Epilogue.

   The book in question is: 

  Me of All People: Alfred Brendel in Conversation with Martin Meyer 
  by Alfred Brendel, Martin Meyer, Richard Stokes (Translator)


  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiX3Rof5E00


  Mary

  PS  There's an interesting 2 dvd documentary "Alfred Brendel: In Portrait" - visit your local University Library for further details...  






------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2012 15:52:51 -0700
  From: boyboy_8 at yahoo.com
  To: f_minor at glenngould.org
  Subject: [f_minor] Beethoven


  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbhBnpMx8-M


  On the recent CBC radio Sunday program that Michael Enright did with Robert Harris, Harris mentioned a CBC recording (many years ago) of GG playing Beethoven's Tempest piano sonata (#17).  I do believe that the one I've posted here is part 1 of this sonata.   As Harris explained, GG often ignored the composer tempo and dynamic markings were in search of what "the music" was asking for.  This was a curious but I think accurate insight into GG's mind.  When I hear GG doing this Tempest, there are several things to look for.  Notice that he is conducting all the time, breathing with the music as if it was a symphony.   In his lectures, famous Beethoven specialist Andras Schiff often explains that Beethoven was first and foremost a symphonist and his sonatas reflect symphonic architecture reduced to two hands.  This is also correct and in GG's performance he is approaching the sonata as if it was a symphony.  Notice as well how he handles the motifs that sound like a soloist singing a single musical line.  Gould takes extra time to allow the notes of the motif to rise up in melancholy, expressing such depth of Beethoven emotion.  The entire movement, for me, is extraordinary and I cannot remember hearing it done with more pathos and introspection.  Incredible.....and totally unique interpretation.  But again, Gould has sought to make the music sound fresh and all the while respecting the meaning that the music has within itself.  



  regards,


  Fred Houpt
  Toronto



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